READ THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital e-Edition of The Citizens' Voice on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at citizensvoice.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device or email, read the e-Edition, sign up for daily newsletters, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Article Tools

KRISTEN MULLEN / THE SUNDAY VOICE
Kayla Perlis, 14, a rising freshman at Wyoming Area High School, looks over her summer reading book 'Murder on the Orient Express' by Agatha Christie at Barnes & Noble in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

KRISTEN MULLEN / THE SUNDAY VOICE
Sabrina Alles, 17, who will be a senior at Dallas High School this year, assembles Buck Double burgers at Burger King in Shavertown. Alles sees how her classroom lessons have prepared her for her job.

Related stories

Only two of 37 school districts in Northeastern Pennsylvania met state averages on all standardized tests and the SAT test, according to Times-Shamrock Newspapers' annual analysis of academic performance.

The Abington Heights and Wayne Highlands school districts surpassed the state averages for all tests, and three other districts, Dallas, Delaware Valley and Wyoming Area, only missed one of 21 testing categories. On the other end, the Greater Nanticoke Area School District missed 18 averages and Wilkes-Barre Area School District missed 17.

Though school districts are inching closer, Northeastern Pennsylvania still has a long way to go before meeting No Child Left Behind's 100-percent proficiency target in 2014.

"All of us can do better, and we all need to do better," said Thomas Gluck, acting Pennsylvania secretary of education. "But I'm proud of the work our public schools are doing."

The newspaper analyzed 2008-09 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test scores and SAT test scores for 500 districts and more than 3,000 schools statewide, as well as a dozen other key educational factors as part of its annual Grading Our Schools special report. Districts were also ranked in each category against other districts in the state.

The Grading Our Schools report includes charts on the region's 37 public school districts, as well as comprehensive online databases with searchable information on all 500 school districts in the state available at www.citizensvoice.com/schools. The databases include educators' profiles with salaries, financial information, district and student demographics and test scores. Users can tailor search results in the databases to compare districts. Science scores for the PSSA tests were added this year.

Abington Heights Superintendent Michael Mahon, Ph.D., said the school's results are a culmination of support by parents and school directors and the work of students and teachers.

"We're happy with the results, but we're certainly not satisfied with them," Dr. Mahon said, adding that new curriculum will hopefully continue to boost scores.

Achievement at Wayne Highlands is also a multi-faceted effort, Superintendent Thomas Jenkins said.

"There's no one thing," he said. "It's a continual process."

From staff development and curriculum review to aligning curriculum to state standards and hiring qualified teachers, the district works to raise achievement, Jenkins said.

State gains

Both Northeast Pennsylvania, and the state as a whole, have made major gains since No Child Left Behind was enacted.

While the federal government is considering changes to the eight-year-old act, Gluck said he thinks the goals will be as ambitious.

"I think for us, whether it's 2014 or some other date to achieve success, we have no choice but for (100 percent proficiency) to be our goal, our expectation," Gluck said, adding one of the greatest benefits of the law is to bring each student's achievement into focus.

In order for schools to become closer to the proficiency expectation, Gluck said four things must happen:

- Continue increased investments in education, even in tight budget years, including investments in early childhood education.

- More data gathering on student performance, and increased use of data for teachers to inform them whether their instruction is working.

- Increase use of technology in schools, especially high schools, so students become more engaged.

- To be clear on targets and expectations for students, including the new graduation requirements.

Other notable findings

- Only five of 37 local school districts - Abington Heights, Dallas, Mountain View, Tunkhannock Area and Wayne Highlands - surpassed the state average of 994 on the SAT test. Only two districts, Wayne Highlands and Abington Heights, surpassed the national average of 1016.

Neither school district that surpassed the national average has SAT classes during the regular school day. Instead, students can sign up for optional classes during the summer or on weekends, superintendent said.

- Five Northeast Pennsylvania school districts are in the bottom eight in per-pupil spending across the state. Those districts are: Hazleton Area, Lakeland, Crestwood, Dunmore and Valley View.

Although Valley View spent less per student than any other district statewide, Superintendent Joseph Daley said the low spending is not a reflection of the quality of education the district provides.

Within the last 11 years, 180 of 200 district teachers have retired. New teachers are paid less than retiring teachers, so the total amount spent on salaries is reduced.

The district also looks for as many grants as possible, and the last construction project was in the mid 1990s, Daley said.

- Daily attendance rates in the region continue to lag greatly compared to the rest of the state. Only two districts, Blue Ridge and Wayne Highlands, are in the top half of districts statewide. Sixteen of 37 school districts are in the bottom 100 in the state.

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.